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Saturday, January 25, 2014

Those 320 seconds on the treadmill felt like eternity. Painful. Very quickly I learned to appreciate the tolerance for pain the middle-distance runners have developed. Sustaining 95 percent heart rate on the borderline of puking was not pleasant. After a month of doing weekly speed work that included 10x400m sprint intervals, I can check off the first step of my experimental training plan. This plan is based on an assumption that in order to run the 26.2 faster, one needs to run 13.1 faster. To run half-marathon faster one needs to run 10k faster, etc.

Eventually you need to run one "unit" faster. This one unit for me is one mile. December was dedicated to training for 1 mile at 5 minutes and 20 seconds. January will be focused on trying to run 5k under 18 minutes. February is all about racing 10k in 37 minutes, March will target half-marathon in 1:21. In April most of my runs on Sunday will be at race pace around 4 minutes per km. Those times are shown in performance prediction tablesfor my (as usual overly optimistic) target 2:50 marathon in Ottawa in May. This approach is introducing a systemic intensity (some may say quality) into my training routine and follows one of the rules of running: "to run fast you must run fast". And that's what I need (and in large quantities) hoping that one day I will be able to break my PB set in Eugene back in April 2011.

Thursday, January 9, 2014

Every year I try to remind myself of “25 golden rules of running” we all should follow. It's quite tempting to stretch some of them just a little bit. And sometimes it's difficult or even impossible to follow others.

Replacing running shoes every 400 miles (Rule 19) would send me shopping for a new pair of runners every 6 weeks and would quickly break my budget. Sleeping extra time (Rule 15) to compensate for fatigue of training is an impossible although very desirable ideal when you have a baby.

However, most of these rules give us a good baseline, standard or "best practices" we can try to comply with to improve, run faster and stay injury free.

1. The Specificity Rule

The most effective training mimics the event for which you're training.

2. The 10-Percent Rule

Increase weekly training mileage by no more than 10 percent per week.

3. The 2-Hour Rule

Wait for about two hours after a meal before running.

4. The 10-Minute Rule

Start every run with 10 minutes of walking and slow running, and do the same to cool down.

5. The 2-Day Rule

If something hurts for two straight days while running, take two days off.

6. The Familiar-Food Rule

Don't eat or drink anything new before or during a race or hard workout.

7. The Race-Recovery Rule

For each mile that you race, allow one day of recovery before returning to hard training or racing.

8. The Heads-Beats-Tails Rule

A headwind always slows you down more than a tailwind speeds you up.

9. The Conversation Rule

You should be able to talk in complete sentences while running.

10. The 20-Mile Rule

Build up to and run at least one 20-miler before a marathon.

11. The Carbs Rule

For a few days before a long race, emphasize carbohydrates in your diet.

12. The Seven-Year Rule

Runners improve for about seven years.

13. The Left-Side-Of-The-Road Rule

To keep safe, run facing traffic.

14. The Up-Beats-Down Rule

Running uphill slows you down more than running downhill speeds you up.

15. The Sleep Rule

Sleep one extra minute per night for each mile per week that you train.

16. The Refueling Rule

Consume a combination carbohydrate-protein food or beverage within 30 to 60 minutes after any race, speed workout, or long run.

17. The Don't-Just-Run Rule

Runners who only run are prone to injury.

The Even-Pace Rule

The best way to race to a personal best is to maintain an even pace from start to finish.

19. The New-Shoes Rule

Replace running shoes once they've covered 400 to 500 miles.

20. The Hard/Easy Rule

Take at least one easy day after every hard day of training.

21. The 10-Degree Rule

Dress for runs as if it's 10 degrees warmer than the thermometer actually reads.

22. The Speedwork-Pace Rule

The most effective pace for VO2-max interval training is about 20 seconds faster per mile than your 5-K race pace.

23. The Tempo-Pace Rule

Lactate-threshold or tempo-run pace is about the pace you can maintain when running all-out for one hour.

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About Me

Running on Sunday morning has been a part of my weekly routine since 1997 when two of my friends and I went for a run (walk) around the Stanley Park in Vancouver on a cold, rainy day in October. Came home exhausted, soaked, starving, but somewhat happy. I was hooked. My first two full-marathons in 2003 and 2005 didn't go well. I have followed a more rigorous training program since and did much better finishing Vancouver and Portland in 2009, Boston and Chicago in 2010, Eugene and New York in 2011, Berlin in 2012, Ottawa and Toronto in 2013, Ottawa and Washington in 2014. My favorite run is a 5K "commute-to-work" run along the canal here in Ottawa . Hope some of my posts on this blog will help other runners stay injury free, train better and run faster.
Run Strong!
Jacek Gorwa, RPB Editor